Olympic chiefs hold new Peng Shuai video call and stick to ‘quiet diplomacy’ stance after WTA takes direct action

In
a
statement
issued
on
Thursday
(December
2),
the
Olympic
body
repeated
a
previous
message
that
it
was
taking
a
“quiet
diplomacy”
route
and
speaking
to
Chinese
sport
bodies
about
what
it
described
as
“the
difficult
situation
she
is
in”.

Peng
made
allegations
in
November
of
sexual
assault
against
Zhang
Gaoli,
the
ex-vice
premier
and
member
of
the
Chinese
Communist
Party’s
Politburo
Standing
Committee.

The
two-time
doubles
grand
slam
winner
posted
the
allegations
on
social
media
site
Weibo,
though
her
post
has
since
been
removed
and
her
whereabouts
since
have
been
unclear.

The
WTA,
which
runs
the
main
women’s
tennis
tour,
suspended
its
upcoming
tournaments
in
China
on
Wednesday
owing
to
its
ongoing
worries
about
Peng’s
wellbeing.

An
email
allegedly
sent
by
Peng
was
received
recently
by
WTA
chairman
Steve
Simon,
with
the
message
saying
the
sexual
assault
allegations
were
false
and
that
the
tennis
star
was
safely
at
home.
Simon
said
that
email
only
heightened
his
worries
over
Peng’s
safety.

WTA
suspends
tournaments
in
China
amid
concerns
over
Peng
Shuai

International
Olympic
Committee
(IOC)
president
Thomas
Bach
was
pictured
in
conversation
by
video
link
with
Peng
last
month,
and
now
the
IOC
says
there
was
further
contact
on
Wednesday
with
the
35-year-old
former
French
Open
and
Wimbledon
doubles
winner.

The
IOC
said:
“We
share
the
same
concern
as
many
other
people
and
organisations
about
the
well-being
and
safety
of
Peng
Shuai.
This
is
why,
just
yesterday,
an
IOC
team
held
another
video
call
with
her.
We
have
offered
her
wide-ranging
support,
will
stay
in
regular
touch
with
her,
and
have
already
agreed
on
a
personal
meeting
in
January.

“There
are
different
ways
to
achieve
her
well-being
and
safety.
We
have
taken
a
very
human
and
person-centred
approach
to
her
situation.
Since
she
is
a
three-time
Olympian,
the
IOC
is
addressing
these
concerns
directly
with
Chinese
sports
organisations.

“We
are
using
‘quiet
diplomacy’ which,
given
the
circumstances
and
based
on
the
experience
of
governments
and
other
organisations,
is
indicated
to
be
the
most
promising
way
to
proceed
effectively
in
such
humanitarian
matters.

WTA:
Suspension
of
China
events
over
Peng
Shuai
could
go
past
2022

“The
IOC’s
efforts
led
to
a
half-hour
videoconference
with
Peng
Shuai
on
21
November,
during
which
she
explained
her
situation
and
appeared
to
be
safe
and
well,
given
the
difficult
situation
she
is
in.
This
was
reconfirmed
in
yesterday’s
call.
Our
human
and
person-centred
approach
means
that
we
continue
to
be
concerned
about
her
personal
situation
and
will
continue
to
support
her.”

Proud
of
Steve
Simon
and
the

@WTA
for
following
through…hoping
the
rest
of
the
powers
of
tennis,
other
sports,
and
even
businesses
follow
suit….Now,
let’s
concentrate
on
finding
Peng
Shuai…

https://t.co/H06teH4M6v

—
Chris
Evert
(@ChrissieEvert)

December
2,
2021

Beijing,
China’s
capital,
is
due
to
host
the
Winter
Olympics
in
February.
There
could
be
a
heightened
focus
on
Peng
should
the
situation
not
be
satisfactorily
resolved
by
then.

There
has
been
no
suggestion
of
the
Games
being
in
any
doubt
due
to
the
global
concern
over
Peng,
but
the
women’s
tennis
tour
will
not
be
visiting
China
for
the
foreseeable
future,
barring
a
change
in
circumstances.

WTA
chairman
Simon
said
on
Wednesday:
“In
good
conscience,
I
don’t
see
how
I
can
ask
our
athletes
to
compete
there
when
Peng
Shuai
is
not
allowed
to
communicate
freely
and
has
seemingly
been
pressured
to
contradict
her
allegation
of
sexual
assault.”